March 25, 2004

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. This copy may not be in its final form and may be dated.

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: Could it lead to the end of the pledge as we know it? A supreme clause is in Supreme Court hands. An outspoken star witness takes the stand -- and makes an apology -- at a 9/11 Commission hearing. And at this ceremony, you don't have to know him -- you don't even have to like him...but you're gonna kiss him!

Thank you for joining us for CNN Student News this Thursday, March 25th! From the CNN Center, I'm Christina Park.

First Up: "Under God" Under Fire

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: First up: You've probably been pledging to the flag so long, you don't really think about the words anymore. But if the Supreme Court sides with an unreligious man who wants it changed, you may have a slightly different pledge to say. Now it could be July before a final ruling is issued...so for now, it's important to understand who feels what, in this judicial tug-of-war. Bob Franken gives us a detailed rundown of the players and where they stand.

(begin video)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN REPORTER: As demonstrators ralled outside...

UNIDENTIFIED: One nation under God.

 FRANKEN: Inside, as usual, the Justices began after the words "God save the United States and this honorable court. Aetheist Michael Newdow came to argue on his own behalf, a rare event. He doesn't want his ten-year-old daughter saying the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance.

MICHAEL NEWDOW, PLAINTIFF: I have an absolute right to know that when my child goes to the public schools, she's not going to be indoctrinated with any religious doctrine.

FRANKEN: But first, a debate over whether Newdow can even bring the case because the girl's mother has custodial rights. She supports saying "under God."

SUSAN BANNING, MOTHER: As a mother, as a Christian and American as I've said, I am hoping that the court will resolve this issue today.

FRANKEN: Bush administration Solicitor General Ted Olson: "under god" is merely: "ceremonial patriotic exercise". Newdow: "to say this is not religious is somewhat bizarre." Although supremely inexperienced, Newdow calmly parried with a seemingly skeptical Supreme Court Chief Justice Wlliam Rehnquist: "What if the school asked your daughter to sing 'God Bless America'. No response.

FRANKEN: Justice David Souter called "under God" not a prayer but: "...tepid...diluted...beneath, in effect, the constitutional radar." Justice Antonin Scalia withdrew from the case at Newdow's request after he publicly disagreed with his legal arguments, leaving the possibiltiy of a four-four vote, which would be a victory for Newdow. Newdow acknowledged the political uproar, saying that after the lower court ruling "the country went beserk" the justices will try and decide whether to calm things down. Bob Franken, CNN, the Supreme Court.

(end video)

Fast Facts on the Pledge of Allegiance

CARL AZUZ, CNN REPORTER: The Pledge of Allegiance first debuted in 1892... In a young people's publication called The Youth's Companion. It was edited in 1924 to include the words "the flag of the United States of America"... And the government officially recognized the pledge in 1942. Religious leaders lobbied to add the words "under God" to the pledge in 1954, because they wanted it to sound significantly different from communist speeches, and communists would not include those words. President Dwight D. Eisenhower agreed, and Congress revised the pledge that same year.

Spoken Word

CLASS: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

BOY: I pledge allegiance to the flag...

BOY: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

BOY: The United States of America... oh.

BOY: To the flag of the United States of America... um... ok, I don't know it.

GIRL: And to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God.

BOY: And to the republic of which it stands, one nation under God... and... indivisible.

GIRL: One nation under God and indivisible.

GIRL: Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

CNNStudentNews.com

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: For more on how and why the Pledge of Allegiance has changed over the years, check out today's Learning Activity. After students complete their research, they'll be challenged to write their own pledges...that express how they feel about the U.S. role in the world today.

9/11 Commission

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: It was a call for understanding and forgiveness from a former official assigned with the task of countering terrorism. He says that he and the government both failed in preventing the September 11 attacks...despite assurances from clinton and bush administration officials, that they never let their guard down. Skip Loescher wraps up Wednesday's highlights from the 9/11 Commission hearing.

(begin video)

SKIP LOESCHER, CNN REPORTER: Richard Clarke was the counterterrorism advisor under 4 presidents...including George W. Bush. He began his testimony by speaking to the families of 9/11 victims.

RICHARD CLARKE, FORMER NSC COUNTERTERRORISM COORDINATER: Your government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you and I failed you.

LOESCHER: Clarke says the Bush administration saw al Qaeda as a important issue but not an urgent one, before 9/11.

CLARKE: President Bush himself, says as much in his interview with Bob Woodward in the book Bush at War, he says I didn't feel a sense of urgency.

LOESCHER: The Bush administration says Clarke is flat out wrong.

ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: We did not anticipate the kind of attack that happened September 11. I don't think anyone could have.

LOESCHER: Yet CIA Director George Tenet told the commission that both the Clinton and Bush administrations took the threat of terrorism seriously and worked to disrupt it. But Tenet says, despite an enormous effort, the CIA was never able to come up with specific intelligence that may have been able to prevent it.

GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: We didn't steal the secret that told us what the plot was. We didn't recruit the right people or collect the right data.

LOESCHER: Skip Loescher, for CNN Student News.

(end video)

Shoutout

CARL AZUZ, CNN REPORTER: Time for the Shoutout!

Rank the order in which most people would get the following academic titles, or degrees:  When you've got it, shout it out! A) bachelor's, B) associate's, C) doctorate or D) master's?  We'll give you five seconds on this one--GO!

The answer: B-A-D-C. Most folks would get their associate's degree first, followed by the bachelor's, then the master's, then the coveted doctorate. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

A Few Degrees Ahead

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR:  Most of you are probably thinking you'll start with a high-school diploma, and then consider how far you'll go in the degree department. but if you're one of those who spends free time thinking about nanophotonics or considering how you'll apply its principles to your doctorate degree, you'll be in good company with the 14-year-old whiz kid in this story by Bill Tucker.

(begin video)

BILL TUCKER, CNN REPORTER: Most 14 year old girls are worried about their social calander, the latest fashions, and in middle school. Alia Sabur is fourteen and working on her doctorate in electrical engineering. More specifically in nanophotonics.

ALIA SABUR, YOUNG PHD STUDENT: Nanophotonics is the study and creation of electronic devices, using optics, at the nano-scale, or if you prefer, the atomic scale.

TUCKER: Not that Alia is above living in the meta atomic scale...it's just that she has a gift...

PROFFESSOR MUN YOUNG CHOI: She is a person that really thinks in concepts..so when she tries to learn a mathmatical formula...to her it's not just numbers and formulas but she visualizes the solution and that's what makes her unique and special.

TUCKER: Alia puts it another way...

SABUR: See, this is the something... I just do everything faster..it's not that i know things or that I could just pick up the clarinet and start playing it...but everything happens faster.

TUCKER: She started reading at eight months... went from fourth grade to college at state univerisity of new york, stoney brooke and graduated suma cum laude with a degree in applied math. She"s a concert level clarinetist...makes oragami....AND has a black belt in Tae Kwan Do. But...she's not a geek.

SABUR: I've never been one to study all day..you know..I have a life. I mean I like having a life you know..I would not want to spend the entire day doing one thing.

TUCKER: Despite being the youngest female phd candidate in the country and looking forward to lecturing undergraduate classes at Drexel University...she's also refreshingly fourteen.

SABUR: I don't clean my room...I don't go to sleep on time...and I'm always listening to music on my headsets.

TUCKER: and when it came time to move from her hometown of Northport Long Island to Philadelphia, her friends surprised her with a party.

SABUR: It was all my same age friends...all of them...all like 12 of them. They all got together and organized it and had a surprise party for me. I couldn't believe they did that. I have nice friends.

TUCKER: Alia's goal? To be a professor and researcher by day...and a professional clarinetist by night. Bill Bucker, CNN, Philadelphia.

(end video)

Before We Go

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: Well, pucker up for one unusual "Before We Go". Young Indonesians rushed headlong into an annual kissing ceremony this week... an event dating back to the 19th century, designed to promote health and kiss off bad luck. Though some missed their target, they never miss the ceremony, because a village leader said a plague struck the year they did. Lip-lockers are limited to 15 seconds -- if they link up at all -- and then a splash of water cools 'em off.

Goodbye

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: And CNN Student News will kiss you goodbye for now. I'm Christina Park. Headline News heats up more stories, next!